


Year 4: First Impressions

by VioletKnox



Series: The Lion, The Snake and The Locket [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Quidditch, Reader-Insert, Reader-Interactive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-11-28 20:43:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20972771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VioletKnox/pseuds/VioletKnox
Summary: You are in your 4th year at Hogwarts. You are a chaser on the Gryffindor team but don’t have any friends until you meet a certain someone on the train.





	1. New Friends, New Beginnings

Running between platforms nine and ten, you just barely made it to the Hogwarts Express as you watched the steam of the engine cloud the air above. It was ready to depart with determination, but you weren’t so sure you were ready to join it. You’d been at Hogwarts for three years now, mostly keeping to yourself and didn’t mind the fact that you didn’t talk to many people. You were a proud Gryffindor and had made the quidditch team as a chaser last year. Besides flying a broom, you really enjoyed a good book. You’d in fact, made it your goal to read every book in the library by the time you graduated. But despite your success in quidditch and your ambitious goals, sometimes you wished you had someone to talk to, to confide in, to trust. Year 4 would be different, you told yourself, you would try and talk to more people, let more people in. 

Lugging your bag onto the train, you squeezed passed the other late arrivals and as you peered around, it seemed like every compartment was packed. Making your way to the end of the train, you looked for an empty seat and finally found a compartment that only contained one other person. You recognized him as the Slytherin boy with the long dark hair that seemed to have some sort of rivalry with a few of your housemates. Hesitating for a moment, you opened the door, hoping he wouldn’t immediately kick you out. As a Gryffindor, you didn’t think he would welcome you, but you decided to take your chances. When you’d opened the compartment door, just enough for him to notice, he looked up from his book and frowned.

“E-Everywhere else is full,” you commented “C-can I sit here?”

“Fine” he grunted coldly before burying his face back into his book, clearly disapproving of your abrupt entrance.

You pulled a book of your own out of your luggage before putting it away in the overhead compartment above your seat. Taking one last nervous glance at the raven-haired boy, you settled yourself down across from him and opened your book, loosing yourself in the words of the page. An hour passes by and neither of you had said a word to one another. You’d considered making some sort of notion to introduce yourself, but you felt so awkward. He already wasn’t happy with your presence, so how would he react to you trying to initiate a conversation? Putting down your book, you stared out the window admiring the view. Nervously, you twiddled with your thumbs debating on how you could possibly try and talk to the boy sitting across from you. You had promised yourself you’d be more approachable this year, so why not start now?

Guessing you were rightfully placed into Gryffindor as you’d decided on gathering your courage to talk to him. But before you could say a word, he spoke first.

“Why are you staring at me?” He didn’t take his eyes off his book, but his voice gave you the impression that he was annoyed.

“I just-umm… (Y/N). My name is (Y/N) (Y/L/N),” you didn’t know what to say. “Y-you’re Severus Snape, right?” He finally looked up from his book, allowing you to peer into the coldest eyes you had ever seen.

“Look I don’t know what you and your other Gryffindor mates are playing at, but I don’t care. Just leave me alone.” With that, he went back to his book, leaving you with a small frown on your face.

His words took you back. The first person you try and befriend, and he responds with such a harsh attitude.

“We aren’t all the same, you know,” you whispered, looking at the ground in dismay. “I was only trying to be nice.”

You quickly got up and left the compartment, not wanting him to see the disappointment in your face. You started walking down towards the front of the train until you were meet with the trolley.

“Anything off the trolley dear?” you were about to reply with a kind no, but you paused and thought for a second.

“Yeah, two chocolate frogs please,” you said. The woman handed you two frogs as you gave her some coins in exchange. Slowly, you made your way back to the compartment looking down at the two frogs you just bought. Why did you get two? He isn’t going to want one.

When you opened the compartment door, you saw Severus in the same position you left him in; nose in his book. Nervously, you walked towards him and tried to hand him one of the chocolate frogs in your hand, extending your arm to him.

“Peace offering,” you said, but he didn’t budge. “Come on Severus, I bought it for you,” you urged him, lightly shaking the blue box in your hand. When he still showed no sign of movement, you placed the chocolate frog beside him and sat down in your seat to eat your own.

Struggling a little to open the wrapping, you tore at it with all your might, causing the frog to jump onto the window. Slamming your hand where he’d landed, you hoped to catch him before he leaped again, but the frog jumped once more, landing onto the book Severus had in his hands. He grabbed it and put down his book, clearly having enough of your shenanigans. You stared at him, cheeks tinting pink, trying to find words to apologize for interrupting him again, but your mind went blank when you stared into those harsh black eyes of his. He hesitantly handed you the frog and continued to stare at you as you took your seat while whispering a small thank you.

“Why are you being nice to me?” he asked suddenly. You froze for a moment before replying, his question taking you by surprise.

“Well, maybe I want to be friends,” you said as you began to eat your frog. Severus narrowed his eyes as he examined you, trying to determine how truthful you were being to him.

“Why do you want to be friends with me? I’m a Slytherin. You are a Gryffindor. We would be… Incompatible.”

“Like I said, we aren’t all the same us Gryffindors. As I imagine you Slytherins aren’t all the same,” you finished up your chocolate frog and picked up the card that came with the package. As you were reading it, you saw Severus picked up the chocolate frog you gave him out of the corner of your eye. He cautiously unwrapped it and quickly grabbed the frog. Unlike yours, his frog did not escape his grasp as he tightened his long fingers around the chocolate treat. You smiled at him in satisfaction as you watched him take a bit.

“So. Does this mean we’re friends now?” you were feeling a lot more confident now that he’d accepted your peace offering, hoping that this meant he’d accepted your advances in becoming friends.

He scoffed in response as he peered out the window, continuing to make his way through the snack in his hand. He didn’t know what to think of you. How is it possible that a Gryffindor was being kind to him after so many of them had treated him like filth? Unless it was all some sort of trick. A messily prank Potter and his dipodic friends were playing on him, sending you in here to pretend to befriend him.

He took out his chocolate frog card and handed it to you. 

“You can keep that,” you said, afraid he thought he owed you something.

“I don’t collect them. You can have it.”

You took the card from his hand and thanked him. Well, you did it, you thought to yourself. You made a friend.


	2. Frustrations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus ignores you after your first encounter and you wonder why until you find youself in a confrontation that reveals why the raven-haired boy is so hesitant to trust you.

Two weeks into the new term and you hadn’t seen Severus since the train ride to Hogwarts. You wondered at times if he was deliberately avoiding you as he’d always seemed occupied each time you thought of approaching him. He hadn’t indicated in any sort of way that he wanted to be friends, but the small conversation you’d had on the train told you otherwise. It was pleasant having someone to talk to on such a long trip and you’d grown rather comfortable around him. After dinner one day, you decided to make your way to the library to pick up a new book to read. You made your way to the Dark Arts section and to your surprise, found a dark looming figure, browsing the shelves.

“Severus?” you said, walking up behind him. He flinched at the sound of your voice.

“(Y/N), what are you doing here?” he asked as he turned away from you, gathering his books in an attempt to leave quickly.

“I’m trying to find a new book to read. Any suggestions?” he stared at you blankly, searching your eyes before turning to leave, uninterested in starting a conversation with you. You quickly jumped in front of him, fed up with his cold attitude.

“Why are you ignoring me?” you demanded, “I thought we were friends”

“Why would I be friends with a filthy Gryffindor,” he spat back at you. Though his tone was rather harsh, and his words were quite rude, the frown on his face was all you needed to see to know how he felt about you.

“I thought we established that our house doesn’t define us,” you replied trying to show him that you didn’t care about what house he was in as you never understood the stigma behind two houses, especially Gryffindor and Slytherin, hating one another.

“Just leave me alone. I don’t need you.” He quickly pushed you aside and you felt your balance faulter a moment as he rushed passed you, clutching the books in his hands, seemingly trying to get as far from you as he could.

You felt your heart sink as you watched him disappearing around the corner, leaving you humiliated and annoyed with yourself. So much for making friends.

Severus continued to avoid you the next few weeks and you did the same, sharing no interest in talking to such a rude and cold person. You’d always done fine on your own anyways, and if he was unwilling to see how great a friend you could be, then it was his lose.

After Potions class one stormy night, you started to head towards the library as always, but this time, you noticed a figure tailing you by a few feet, something Severus noticed as well. Out of sheer curiosity, he followed behind the figure and watched as you nervously looked over your shoulder, worried as to the intent of the person following you.

“(Y/N)!” yelled an enchanting voice. You turned around to see the curly haired boy you recognized as Sirius Black who seemed to be accompanied by one of his friends. As they both stepped towards you, it became apparent that it was none other than James Potter who’d decided to accompany his friend in approaching you. You didn’t know much about the pair as you the only reason you even knew their names was because you’d been playing Quidditch with James since last year, but you felt uneasy at the sly expressions on their faces.

“Can I help you Sirius?” you said with an annoyed look on your face as the boys surrounded you. 

“I hope so. See, James and I have been wondering why you were sitting with Snivellus on the train.” you paused before responding, confused as to what he was referring to.

“Y-you mean Severus? I mean… the rest of the train was full. I just happen to have-”

“Ha! I knew it. See, I told you Prongs, no way a pretty Gryffindor like her would willingly talk to such slim ball like Snivellus.” You looked at him in awe and you suddenly realized why Severus was so hesitant to trust that your intentions of simply being friends were true. If Sirius and others from your house had treated him like this in the past, well, let’s just say you would feel just as inclined to give any Gryffindor the cold shoulder if they treated you the way Sirius just now spoke of Severus.

“I will talk to whoever I want to thanks! And his name is Severus!” You snapped at him before turning your back, intending to storm away. You weren’t quick enough though as you felt a hand gripping your arm and turn you back to face Sirius.

“Get off me!” you yelled, trying to escape his grasp as you pulled and tugged your arm. It was no use though as he’d held a firm grip on you.

“You know you could do a lot better right? I mean of all the houses, why did you have to go for a Slytherin?”

“Says the guy from a family of Slytherins! Let go of me!” you shouted once more, still squirming in your place. Instead of listening to your request, he grabbed your other arm, caging you between him and the wall. You struggled against him as he pulled you closer.

“(Y/N) please just listen-“ He was clearly about to try and explain his reasoning to you, but you had no interest in hearing what he had to say any longer. All you knew was that you had to get out of there before things got any worse for you.

“GET OFF!” You pulled one hand free from his grasp and placed it over his arm in an attempt to free your yourself completely. In the struggle, your bag fell open and a few of its contents fell to the ground.

“Padfoot, come on let’s go. She’s not worth it mate,” James put his hand on Sirius’ shoulder who finally let you go, throwing you towards the wall in frustration, resulting in the rest of the contents in your bag to scatter across the floor. He ran after James but not before shooting you a look of irritation and disgust.

You fell to your knees trying to pick up your belongings as quickly as you could before the tears that gathered in your eyes would fall. You were unsuccessful however as you wipe away the stream of water across your cheeks that wouldn’t stop leaking. Once you had gathered all your books, you quickly ran to the only place in the castle you felt safe; the library.


	3. Mysteries in the Dark Arts Section

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus follows you to the library where you finally start talking again.

Severus wasn’t sure why you had attempted to stand up for him to Potter and Black, but he knew one thing was for sure; you really were different to the other Gryffindors. He watched as you quickly walked towards the library and debated on if he should try and talk to you or continue alluding you. He felt a bit guilty now for treating you so horribly over the last few weeks, but he was also unsure of how to casually change the his attitude towards you without arising suspicion. He decided instead to follow you in the shadows to see what you would do next, thinking perhaps he’d find a better way to approach the situation if he got to know you a little better.

Severus found himself in the Dark Arts section of the library again, same place he’d told you to leave him alone. If he went to talk to you right now, would you reply with the same answer he gave you that day? He watched as you picked out a few books and sat at a nearby table.

After watching you sniffle, attempting to hide how hurt you were as you read, he finally mustered up the courage to walk towards you.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked as he approached you, pulling the seat adjacent to you from the table. You looked up at him and suddenly felt your anguish turn to hate.

“I thought you wanted nothing to do with me?” you said coldly, mimicking the same rude demeaner he’d given you since you’d met.

“Well I can just leave then,” he snapped back, but made no indication of moving from where he stood. You both stared at each other before he broke the silence. “That book isn’t very reliable you know.”

You looked down at your book. “You’ve read it?”

“Yeah. Look at the back of the book. The sources aren’t credible.” You flipped to the back and sure enough, you found that he was right.

“Well, what book would you suggest then?” you asked, feeling your emotions slowly die down as your curiosity peeked by his uncharted knowledge of books. He left his belongings on your table and walked back over to the shelves, picking out three books. He walked back towards you and placed them on the table in front of you, beside the books you’d picked out yourself before taking a seat.

You looked at each book one by one and felt your spirits lift as you saw how enriching they were. Once you reached the last book, you had a clear smile on your face, completely forgetting the earlier encounter you had with Sirius and James. Severus felt a bit of content wash over him when he watched your spirits lift, glad he was able to return the small bit of kindness you’d shown him, a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time.

“Thanks,” you said as you looked back up at him, grateful that you now had such an amazing collection of books to help you forget how miserable you’d been feeling.

You spent the next hour talking about books with Severus and swapping favorites. He knew an awful lot about Potions and the Dark Arts and to his surprise, you had an unexpected amount of knowledge on the Dark Arts yourself (compared to everyone else who flinched at the thought of any sort of dark magic). Normally, people were appalled by his fascination in the subject and never wanted to know anything about it, not even how to defend against it, but you on the other hand, were very curious and kept asking him questions. You also seemed to know a lot on Herbology, not surprising seeing as how you read every Herbology book Hogwarts had to offer over your first two years as a student, but your extensive knowledge on the subject greatly assisted you with understanding Potions which he greatly admired.

You both walked to Defense against the Dark Arts together when it came time for class, still talking about books and your favorite subjects. Once you neared the door however, you split off; him heading to the other Slytherins that had already arrived, and you the Gryffindors. Despite your happy discussion, you still found the tension between both houses caused a wall between you and Severus, which you thought was absolutely absurd, but you knew that you weren’t going to break any measly school rivalries on your own. So you simply accepted your potential friendship with Severus as a win and a step closer to edging out of the shell you’d entrapped yourself in these past few years.


	4. Study Sessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You grow closer to Severus as you begin to regularly study with him in the library.

You never went out of your way to see each other. Sometimes he would follow you to the library after class, sometimes you’d bump into each other in the hall, though each time you went to study outside the common room, you secretly hoped you’d see him. Soon enough, you both began exchanging tips and tricks on various subjects. He excelled in Potions and Defense, while you in Charms and Herbology. You complimented on another like honey and mustered, helping one another in areas you lacked, ultimately improving your overall grades in all four subjects

You always met in the same corner of the library near the Dark Arts section. After a few weeks, you took a chance and suggested a regular meet up time which he hesitantly agreed to. 

“Look at this. Check out the instructions they use for Draught of Peace in this book,” said Severus as he handed you the book he was reading.

“Huh,” you riffled through the stack of books that was on your table until you found what you were looking for. You quickly flipped through the pages and stopped when you found the same potion Severus had pointed out to you. Placing the books side by side, you slide them towards him, wanting to show him what you had discovered. “Look, they added powdered moonstone twice,” you pointed at the book Severus had shown you.

“Makes sense, if they are able to add more powdered moonstone than required, it’ll strengthen the potion,” he replied. “Of course, they had to add the extra moonstone after the unicorn horn”

“Why? Why not add it all at once?” You were always so astounded by Severus’ in-depth knowledge, allowing him to see potions in a way you could never comprehend.

“Because the potion wouldn’t react correctly, it’s why this book here,” he said, pointing to the one you had pulled out, “only put in the moonstone powder once. Whoever wrote this was probably trying to play it safe” he scoffed.

“I see what you mean. But you know, you could probably add in more moonstone if you put it in before the hellebore and let it steep for seven hours before adding in the unicorn horn.” He stared at you, unable to fathom how you could possibly be giving him advice on Potions. Looking at the expression on his face, you felt you had to prove your point.

You went back to the pile of books on your table and rummaged through it again, looking for the right book to back up your claim. Once you’d flipped to the correct page you handed him the book.

“See, look. Here it tells you all the properties for Syrup of Hellebore.” He read the section of the book you had pointed at and you watched as he nodded his head, the expression on his face quickly changed to show how impressed he was with you.

You spent the rest of the day together, studying and working on improving Potions you found in various books. You never felt so close to someone before, but you gladly welcomed the new feeling. Eventually, Severus suggested creating a queue of books and a study plan for what topics you would cover in the next few weeks to which you agreed to, adding books you were interested in yourself. 

After that day, you continued to make plans to study together as much as you could. Although you personally just wanted to spend more time with someone other than the members of your quidditch team, no matter the activity you had to partake int. Slowly, Severus unwillingly found himself lowering his guard with you, as he was previously afraid you would hurt him and eventually, he found himself looking forward to seeing you, enjoying having company while he studied. Nevertheless, the meet-ups would prove to be more than simple study sessions as your new-found knowledge did not go unnoticed. Gradually, you and Severus became top of your class in Potions, Herbology, Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Slughorn was perhaps the most enthusiastic about your new achievements in his subject out of all your teachers. 

You found that Severus’ expert knowledge in Potions complimented your insight on Herbology as you worked well together, discussing, in depth on how you could improve concoctions you both understood. Eventually, you moved on to creating new charms and hexes. They were small, nothing too impressive as you were only in your fourth year at Hogwarts, so your abilities were still very limited. You personally really enjoyed charming your hairband to tie itself as it helped you change into your quidditch uniform at a faster pace. Although Severus refused to try it when you offered him one of your extra hair ties even after you’d told him it would help keep his hair out of the way as he studied. 

You were quick to feel comfortable around him, but Severus was more hesitant towards you. Even though he enjoyed sharing his thoughts with someone who had enough knowledge to indulge him in a proper conversation, he couldn’t help but think you were playing him and would find your Gryffindor friends laughing at him for attempting to befriend you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to keep their conversation on potions as accurate as possible, but this is very much a filler chapter. Hope I did ok though.


	5. Slytherin vs. Gryffindor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go to meet Severus at the library as usual after the first game of the season, but find him chatting with some unwanted company instead.

You hadn’t seen Severus as often lately, as the first game of the season approached, your captain had you practicing as much as possible. Coming from practice one day you made your way to the library as you’d promised Severus you would meet him for a study session. You were so tired, you knew you should take a bath and head straight for bed, but you didn’t want to abandon the plans you made with Severus as you really enjoyed the little study sessions you had going. 

Once you changed and packed up, you made your way to the library. You found Severus sitting in the spot where you always met up and as you approached, he looked up from his book.

“You look beat,” he said, examining the exhausted expression on your face.

“Yes well, everyone’s really anxious for tomorrow’s game,” you replied as you swung your bag onto the desk and rested your head on the table as you sat down. 

“The Slytherin team seems to think you lot will make fools of yourselves,” he shot you a smirk and you looked at him in amusement.

“What else is new?” you said sarcastically. 

Severus scoffed as he picked up a book from the table. “Should we pick up where we left off last time?”

“Sure. Although I should probably head to bed a little earlier today. I need to rest before tomorrow’s game.”

He nodded in agreement as he opened a Potions book that you had been making your way through the last few weeks. You spent about an hour in the library before calling it quits to head to bed early. Severus could see you were tired and although he understood why, it still upset him to see you disengage from the system you had both built together. He would never admit it, but he rather enjoyed your company, especially since Lily seemed to have distanced herself from him, leaving a void that he found his Slytherin friends unable to fill.

The next day, you woke still feeling exhausted, but there was no time to think about that as you had to prepare yourself for the game later that afternoon. You quickly got dressed and made your way down to the great hall for breakfast. The Gryffindor and Slytherin tables were full of anxious students, both geared to cheer on their teams while the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs remained humble. 

Once breakfast was over and everyone had begun to clear the room, you started making your way towards the stadium when you suddenly felt a tug on your arm, pulling you into an empty adjacent corridor. 

“Severus!” you said in surprise as you snapped your head back, “You scared me.”

“Sorry,” he said. “Just wanted to wish you luck today.”

“A Slytherin wishing me luck? Dark days then is it?” you teased, knowing just how much trouble he would be if anyone from his house caught him right now. Though you wondered if this meant he would cheer for you today if he was willing to take a chance and pull you aside like this, perhaps he’d be more inclined to support his friend rather than his house. 

“Aren’t you the one who is so set on breaking house stereotypes?” he smugly replied. 

“Ha ha,” you said sarcastically. “Well, thanks but I know we’ll crush your team.”

“I’m sure,” he mimicked your tone. “Are we still on to meet after?”

“Yes, I’ll meet you in the library. But I’ll probably be a bit late, you know, when we win, the Gryffindors will want to celebrate.” He smirked at your cocky comment. 

“We’ll see,” he replied. “I’ll see you later.”

You smiled as you walked towards the crowd of people that had gathered at the entrance of the stadium, glad Severus had enough courage to support in his own way, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to do so in public. Rushing to the changing rooms, you quickly got dressed and joined your team onto the pitch. You mounted your broom and kicked off into the air as Madam Hooch blew her whistle and released the quaffle. 

You were the first to grab the ball as the rest of the chasers on your team flew towards the Slytherin hoops, providing you with some cover. The Slytherin chasers however, were already on your tail as two of them caged you between themselves, pushing you in an attempt to knock you off balance. 

Suddenly, a bludger hit the Slytherin to your right and you were able to swerve to lose the other chaser near you. Making your way to the hoops, you threw the quaffle with all your might to the left most hoop as the keeper was hovering over the right hoop. 

“AND GRYFFINDOR LEADS TEN TO ZERO AS (Y/L/N) MAKES THE FIRST GOAL OF THE GAME!” you heard the commentator say, her enthusiasm clearly showing biased towards your team. The crowd cheered as the Slytherins all hissed and began throwing rude slurs at you. All except one. Right before you turned your broom to continue playing, you caught Severus’ eyes and noticed that the expression on his face was completely neutral, in comparison to that of his peers beside him.

Severus felt conflicted. Normally he would be snickering at the Gryffindor team, but he felt awkward at the thought of heckling you, hence why he didn’t want to join his housemates in their angry remarks. 

“SLYTHERIN MAKES THEIR WAY TO THE GRYFFINDOR HOOPS…”

You quickly flew past the Slytherin seeker as you pushed him aside and eventually snuck up behind the chaser in possession of the quaffle. You punched the ball and it flew out of her grasp as one of your chasers, McKlain, caught it and flew in the other direction. 

Dodging a bludger, you made your way to the other end of the pitch with the intention of giving your teammate assistance. Noticing that one of the Slytherin chasers was about the intercept McKlain, you quickly flew forwards allowing him to pass you the quaffle right before he collided with the Slytherin chaser. They tumbled a bit, but neither of them fell off their broom. You flew a few more feet before shooting again.

“ANOTHER GOAL MADE BY (Y/L/N) WITH MCKLAIN ASSISTING HER! SUCH ADMIRABLE TEAM CORDINATION….”

The rest of the game went in your favor as your team worked together, avoiding Slytherins aggressive approach. James caught the snitch only a half hour into the game, making the final score one-hundred and eight to twenty. 

After changing, you managed to slip away from the Gryffindors as they made their way to the common room to celebrate the first win of the year. Once you made your way to your usual meeting spot in the library, you saw Severus already reading a book, nose so close to the pages as always. 

As you were about to approach him, you saw three Slytherins walked up to him, anger apparent on their faces. You recognized one of them as the chaser you had stolen the quaffle from only a minute into the game. Startled by their presence, you hung back, deciding not to make yourself known to them.

“Snape!” said the chaser angrily. Severus looked up from his book, alarmed by the three students that now surrounded him. 

“What do you want Barlow?” he said coldly, uninterested in starting a conversation as he knew you would be joining him any moment.

“That Gryffindor girl, the chaser, I’ve seen you hanging around her. Talking to her,” said Barlow abruptly. 

“And?”

“You told her about our strategies, didn’t you?” she stepped forward and stood in a threatening stance.

“It’s your fault we lost!” said one of her friends.

“I didn’t tell her anything,” Severus replied with anger in his voice, “It’s not my fault you let those gits win.”

Hearing his aggression took you back and you were conflicted on whether you should step in or if that would just make the situation worse. But when the Slytherin boy who had yet to speak took out his wand, you knew that it didn’t matter what you did, the situation was not going to end well, and you might as well step in to help your friend. 

“Expelliarmus!” you shouted as you stepped around the corner, pointing your wand at the boy who wore a surprised look on his face. You caught his wand as you pointed your own at the Barlow. “Leave,” you ordered. 

But instead of walking away, she reached into her robes, pulling out her wand which you quickly took by disarming her as well. 

“Try me,” you said, shifting your aim at the girl beside Barlow. She showed no indication of attacking you but rather opted to step away and grabbed Barlow’s arm. 

“We should go,” she whispered to her friend. You threw the two wands in your hand at Barlow, still pointing your own directly at her. 

She caught them and took a second to look down at the weapons in her hands before slowly letting his arm fall by her side. Looking back up at you, she slowly walked away with her friends following her. You watched them leave and cautiously let your guard down as your attention gravitated towards Severus.

“I didn’t need your help,” he said defensively, looking at you as you put your wand away. 

“I know you didn’t need my help. But I wanted to help.”

“Why?” he sneered at you, still angry at the fact that you were the reason they had approached him in the first place. 

“Because that’s what friends do Severus,” you were becoming impatient, causing your tone to get more aggressive than you would have liked. “They help and support each other.”

Severus squinted at you before he packed up his books and grabbed his bag to walk away from you.

“Where are you going?” you demanded as you watched him frantically gathering the books laid out on the table. 

“None of your business,” his cold, angry tone still had not changed. 

“I thought we had plans to study!” you said angrily, feeling hurt at his decision to one up and abandon you. 

“I don’t want to study with you anymore. Just leave me alone,” he pushed his way past you as he sped up his pace, leaving you in a state of anger you hadn’t felt in such a long time.

Severus already had issues with Gryffindor students attacking him, but now, because of you, his own housemates were turning against him. Although he had enjoyed talking to you these last few months, he felt the consequences of becoming your friend was not worth it. He feared that his friends would disapprove of you and ultimately deeming him a traitor. He’d already received a lot of backlash from them when they say him talking to Lily, it just wasn’t worth the hassle to try and befriend you. He began making his way to the astronomy tower, a place he felt safe from everyone, and wished you had never talked to him that day in the train compartment as he had never felt more alone then in this moment.


	6. Enough is Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Furious at Severus, you decide to confront him one last time and end up opening up to him about your past.

After watching Severus walk away from you, you made your way to your dorm in a fuming rage. Walking right past the celebration in the common room unnoticed, you stepped into your empty dorm and buried your face into your pillow as you began to sob. After everything, after bonding for so long, he still didn’t consider you a friend. 

You felt your anger bubble to the surface again as you recalled the last few words he’d said to you which lead you to think of all the other harsh comments he had previously directed your way. Unsure of what you should do next, you ran through all your options in your head. You could ignore him and pretend like you didn’t even know him. You could attack him the way he did you, or you could confront him and demand to be heard. 

You finally decided to talk to him after Potions class tomorrow and give this friendship one last shot, or at the very least, get some closure. Third time’s the charm right?

Packing up all your stuff, you quickly prepared yourself to corner Severus as he emerged from the classroom shortly after you. Pulling him into an abandoned hallway, you pushed him to the wall harshly. He shot you a dirty look before reaching for his wand defensively. 

“You won’t need that,” you said furiously. “Not unless you’ve finally decided to act like the rest of your rude housemates.” 

“What do you want,” he snapped back.

“To talk. I’m sick of the way you’re treating me and I won’t have it!” you exclaimed. 

“I told you to leave me alone. It’s better this way,” he went to turn away from you, thinking he’d made his point quiet clear but stopped in his tracks as you continued speaking, determined to teach him a thing or two about manors.

“Why? Just because you’re a Slytherin and I’m a Gryffindor? That’s no reason to be rude!” you were frustrated with his stubborn views. 

“You just don’t understand-”

“No, it’s you that doesn’t understand!” you shouted. Severus stared at you in shock before deciding he no longer wanted to partake in this conversation, feeling as though nothing he said would sway your perspective.

“Whatever,” he mumbled as he shook his head and turned to walk away from you.

“I grew up in an orphanage,” you blurted out. He stopped and turned to look at you, surprised at what you just shared with him. Neither of you ever talked about anything non-Hogwarts related. “My-My mother was a muggle. She left my dad when she found out he was a wizard shortly after I was born. And my dad, he didn’t have a lot of money so he ended up in a small muggle village with poor health care. He was weak and had a really bad case of Dragon Pox. He died a year after my mom left.” You didn’t know why you were sharing all this with him, but you kept going anyway.

“I had no one growing up. No family, no friends. No one. I thought that you understood me, that we could be friends. I thought maybe if I was patient, you would understand that it doesn’t matter what other people think.”

“Why-Why would you tell me this?” he asked nervously, feeling it difficult to abandon you now that you’d spilled your life’s story onto the floor in front of him. 

“Because-I-I… I don’t-know,” you said throwing your hands in the air feeling yourself let go of any left over frustrations towards Severus. “Maybe because I want you to understand how I feel when you treat me so harshly.” Neither of you said a thing for a while, as neither of you really knew what to say. 

“Do you-” you started, “Without-without thinking about what house I’m in, do you want to be friends Severus?” You decided to try approaching the situation from a different angle. Perhaps this way, Severus could see that your house is no reason to give up on your friendship.

He thought for a moment, recalling all the talks you’ve had and how much you bonded over your love for books. He had to admit to himself that he did enjoy your company, something he had to admit he hadn’t felt since he’d met Lily. He enjoyed the company of his Slytherin friends of course, but it just wasn’t the same.

“Yes,” he finally whispered making you smile in satisfaction. “But-” he was about to argue that what house you are from does affect the situation, but you interrupted him. 

“Then can we at least try to ignore this house nonsense and be friends? Because I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you in the library these last few months,” you said. He shifted uncomfortably at first before nodding his head in agreement. If he’d managed to stay friends with Lily this long, perhaps extending his hand in friendship to you wouldn’t be as bad as he imagined. Despite your interest in Quidditch, he could tell that you both had a lot in common already, something he lacked with Lily which did cause the air to stiffen a bit when he spoke with her.

You both made your way to the library in silence after that, hoping the awkwardness would fade and settled into your usual spot to resume your study sessions. Over the next few weeks, you both slowly began to feel comfortable around each other again and Severus learned to ignore any comments thrown his way from his housemates. 

Neither of you brought up your personal lives after you shared your story, but you didn’t mind as thinking about your life outside of Hogwarts was hard enough and you had no interest in being pitted. What you didn’t know was that Severus understood how you felt far more than you imagined as his own home situation was not as quaint as everyone else’s. You indeed do have a lot more in common than he thought, but he had reservations when he thought about opening up to you as he had gotten so used to keeping his guard up around others. 

Nevertheless, he had begun to feel a sense of familiarity and home, a feeling he hadn’t felt since he met Lily. This scared him as he was frustrated with the current status of his friendship with the girl he had grown up with and come to love. He wanted to see more of her, but the fact that she had been sorted into Gryffindor had rendered it rather difficult to see one another. Would the same thing happen with you, or would this time be different?

One afternoon, during your session in the library, you thought you would try for a change of pace as you had grown tired of only spending time with him huddled over a stack of books.

“Let’s go for a walk,” you said, an hour into your study session. 

“What?” Severus looked at you puzzled.

“I’m bored!” you said exaggerating your tone a little. “I want to do something other than sit at this table and read. Come on! It’ll be fun!” you said as you got up and tugged on his arm.

“I highly doubt that,” he said pulling his arm away from you. You stood there and put on the best puppy dog eyes you could muster.

“Please?” you pouted. “Just this once? And if you don’t like it, we’ll lock ourselves in this library forever.”

He scoffed at your proposition as he looked down at his book before closing it and began to pack up. You’d already advanced so far in your classes over the last few weeks, what was the harm in taking a short break. “Fine,” he said. “Just this once.”

You smiled as you quickly packed up as well and threw your bag over your shoulder. You lead the way out of the library and began to make your way towards the black lake. As you walked, your fingers accidentally brushed against his and your eyes immediately shot to look at him as your cheeks tinted pink, not wanting him to get the wrong impression. To your surprise, you didn’t find him disgusted or angry, in fact, you couldn’t read the expression on his face but it almost looked nervous. You gave him a small smile as you continued onwards. 

Moments later you felt his fingers brush yours, but he didn’t jerk back like you did and when he found no protest coming from you, he curled two of his slender fingers gently between your own. Smiling, you returned the gesture as you intertwined your own fingers around his. Soon after, you arrived at the black lake and you turned to face him.

“So, is walking as bad as you thought?” you said smugly.

“No,” he said smirking back at you. Giggling at him, you continued your walk around the lake as you gestured for him to follow you. 

Eventually, you suggested sitting under a tree, a bit remote from the rest of the castle, but still within sight of the lake. He accepted your request and sat beside you. You both stayed there a while, enjoying each other’s company whether in silence or over small talk. It had been a rollercoaster getting to this point but you finally felt like Severus had accepted the possibility of being your friend.


	7. The Slug Club

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slughorn invites you to his yearly Christmas party and you ask Severus to accompany you as a friend.

As you made your way out of your dorm, broom in hand, you heard your name spoken as you passed by the couch near the fireplace. Turning your attention to the source of the voice, you watched as a shy first year made her way towards you. The young Gryffindor looking up at you, holding a note as she struggled to find her words. 

“I-I was asked to give you this,” she spoke in a very small voice as she handed the letter to you.

“Thank you,” you smiled at her as you took the note and unfolded it. 

(Y/N),

I’ve been meaning to congratulate you on your adamant performance against the Slytherins during your last game. I’d be delighted if you joined me after your practice today for a conversation. 

Sincerely, 

Professor H.E.F Slughorn

You read the letter again, unsure of why you had received it but nevertheless, you still noted to pay him a visit after practice. You thanked the young girl who was smiling up at you with admiration as she managed to tell you with a stuttered, that you are a really good Quidditch player, causing you to blush. You quickly made your way out of the common room and rushed to the stadium. 

After practice, you nervously began to head to the dungeons and remembered how Professor Slughorn was constantly complimenting Lily Evans during Potions class yesterday. You knew that she was one of his favorite students and that he always went out of his way to become closer with said students, which, to be completely honest, did creep you out a little. 

Arriving at his office, you knocked on the door and immediately heard him call you inside. 

“(Y/N), my dear, yes come in, come in. So glad you came,” he said gleefully. 

“Professor,” you replied nervous for what type of speech he had in store for you. You’d been trying to determine all practice why he’d ask you to see him, but no apparent explanation came to mind as your Potions grades had never been better. Perhaps he thought you cheats? But you hadn’t and surely there was some sort of system in place to determine whether an accused was guilty of such a thing. “You asked to see me?”

“Yes, yes. I’ve noticed that your Quidditch skills have greatly improved since you joined the Gryffindor team last year. Very impressive indeed, I dare say you are one of the best chasers I have seen in a long while. I only wish you played for Slytherin instead.” 

“Thank you Professor,” you blushed at his compliments, though his intentions didn’t seem any more clear to you. 

“And don’t think I haven’t noticed your improvements in Potions class either.” Oh no, was this it? Was he about to call you out for cheating? “I also hear from a few of your other Professors that you are doing very well in their classes. I am confident that you will have a very wide range of opportunities when you graduate, you may be able to pick any career you like!” his eyes were sparkling with delight while his mouth stretched into a greedy smile. 

“I-I haven’t really given much thought of what I’ll do after graduation, sir,” you felt a bit of pressure from your conversation with Slughorn as if he expected you to bring world peace in a few years. 

“No, you are still young, but I’m sure next year when you take your O.W.Ls you will give it more thought. But that is not why I asked you down here (Y/N),” he said as he made his way to his desk and picked up a nicely printed piece of paper that looked an awful lot like an invitation. “I wanted to give you this,” he said handing it to you, “Ever year I hold a small celebration during the holidays. Only a select few are invited,” he seemed extremely proud of himself, “and I’d be delighted if you would come. Of course you are welcome to bring a guest with you.”

You looked down at the invitation in utter shock, “Thank you Professor,” you said as you smiled at him. 

You left his office and made your way to the library where you bumped into Severus, unsurprisingly reading in a dark corner, the same dark corner where you’d been meeting up to study.

“You’ll never guess what I just got invited to,” you said as you took a seat next to him. He looked up from his book with a curious look on his face. You passed him the invitation and watched as he read it.

“The Slug club?” he asked disapprovingly. 

“I know. I think it’s what he calls the group with his favorite students. I believe Lily is a part of it. And that tall blond Slytherin girl in fifth year.” Severus hummed in response, not showing any interest at all. “Will you go with me?” you asked nervously. 

“What?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at you.

“As friends of course,” you added quickly, “I don’t want to go alone. Please come with me?”

He looked at you blankly and thought for a second before responding. “Sure,” he said, leaning back in his chair, carelessly. You looked at him in surprise as you expected him to protest, but you soon smiled, thankful that you wouldn’t have to endure the company of Slughorn by yourself. 

The holiday’s rolled around rather quickly and you began to feel very nervous about the party you had to attend. You weren’t sure what to expect as you’d never been invited to anything like this before. Soon enough, the day of the party came about, and you found yourself staring at the dress you were to put on. It was a miracle you’d even brought it as it wasn’t the muggle clothing, you’d been wearing on the train, but had been stuffed into your trunk as a last-minute addition for your luggage. Was it even appropriate to where muggle clothing to a wizard’s party? What if you were the only person dressed like this or worse, what if you were denied entry for your inappropriate party attire? Running your hands over the soft fabric, you began to gather your thoughts as you realized it was absurd to assume such things. The dress was simple but still elegant and complimented your eyes very well. You sighed as you got dressed and went to meet Severus.

When Severus saw you, he froze and felt his heart rate increase slightly. You smiled shyly at your date as you approached him. 

“You look nice,” you said nervously. Severus let his eyes roam around the dress you had on, admiring it’s elegance and simplicity before realizing you had just complimented him. 

“You-you look,” he began, “amazing,” he barely managed to get out the last word as he’d never imagined you to be so stunning when dressed up. You giggle at the stunned expression on his face, feeling a little less nervous about your choice in clothing. 

“Come on, let’s get this over with,” you said as you led the way to the hall Slughorn had booked off for the event. 

As you entered, Slughorn immediately grabbed you, pulling you away from Severus to introduce you to the seeker on the English National Quidditch team. You frantically tried to engage in the conversation whilst taking in the sight of the dinner table elegantly furnished and set, ready for its guests. You did your best to chat politely with the seeker as Slughorn continued to flaunt you, but it was hard to focus as you found yourself searching the room instead. 

Everyone was dressed in all sorts of different clothing. Some opting for a more causual attire while others, seemingly the more rich of folks, went all out and took it open themselves to dress in what appeared to be brand new dress robes and dresses. You scanned the faces of all the guests until you finally found Severus who was talking to Lily. You felt yourself freeze as you saw the look on his face. You’d never seen him look at someone like that; he seemed so happy and secure around her. You suddenly released the uncomfortable knot that had formed in your stomach as you watched Severus smile at her while she laughed. You had never felt this jealous before. Convincing yourself that you only felt this way because you were having a highly unwanted conversation while Severus was talking to someone his own age, you repressed the feeling and tried your best to end your current conversation. 

After slipping away from Slughorn, you made your way over to Severus and Lily. You eagerly joined their conversation but the knot in your stomach didn’t fade as you’d hoped. Instead, you felt a new knot forming as you watched Severus attempt to get closer to Lily. Why were you feeling this way? You had never thought of Severus as anything more than a friend, so why did you feel such hatred towards Lily? Was this why he had so quickly agreed to accompany you to the dinner? Was he only using you as a means to get closer to her? You did your best to push away these feelings, praying that it would stop, but they only increased as the night went on and you continued to watch Severus conversing with his childhood friend. 

Once the party was over, Lily walked off with her date and Severus turned to you, offering to walk you back to your dorm. You smiled and gladly accepted despite the fact that you’d felt like your heart had just been torn in half and that being around him any longer would cause you to fall apart. 

“Thanks for walking me back,” you said as you stopped closest as you could to the Gryffindor common room without the worry of someone noticing you both. 

“No worries,” he said with a small smile forming on the corner of his lips. 

Without thinking about it, you plunged forward, wrapping your arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, hoping that it would help calm the feelings you had been repressing all night. He was taken back by the contact, but you eventually felt his hands gently place themselves on your back. You closed your eyes wishing that this moment would never end, but eventually you pushed yourself off him and gave him one last glance before turning around and walking towards the portrait of the Fat Lady.


	8. Broken Leg, Mended Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a bad fall from the last quidditch game, you find yourself in the hospital wing accompanied by Severus.

As the holidays passed, you found yourself thinking less and less about your feelings towards Severus. In fact, they seemed to have completely faded as you went back to your usual discussions and study sessions. Perhaps you had only felt that way because you were lonely and wanted someone to pay attention to you as he did Lily. Either way, you had no interest in pursuing anything further with Severus as, at the moment, you enjoyed simply being friends.

The next Quidditch game fast approached as your team began practicing as much as time allowed. Unfortunately, that meant less time with Severus which he was not too happy about as you had fallen behind the schedule he had created, covering all the textbooks you so badly wanted to study. 

The game went well as Gryffindor won two-hundred and ten to one-hundred and thirty against Ravenclaw. However, just as James caught the snitch, a bludger was shot towards your direction and hit you on your right shoulder while you had your back turned, causing you to fall off your broom. And that, is how you found yourself in the hospital wing surrounded by your concerned teammates, all hoping you would be well enough to play the last game of the season in a few months. 

When Severus saw you fall, he jumped out of his seat and as he leaned over to see if you were alright, his heart began to race. He watched as they took you away and followed behind your team, hanging back so he wouldn’t be seen. He waited for them to leave the infirmary so he could go and see you.

“Hi,” he said nervously looking at you, examining your wounds. You looked like you were in so much pain when you’d hit the ground, he worried that perhaps some permanent damage may have been done but the fact that you were at least conscious right now was a good sign.

“Hi,” you said in surprise as you did your best to sit up in your bed, watching Severus take a seat beside you. Every single move you made sent a pulse of agonizing pain to shoot through your entire body. But at least Madam Pomfrey had given you a pain-relieving potion to ease your suffering a bit. Otherwise, you weren’t sure you would be all that attentive right now.

“How are you feeling?”

“Well, you know. Dislocated shoulder, few broken bones, twisted ankle. It could be worse,” you smiled at him trying to reassure him that you were okay. He scoffed at your sarcasm, clearly unamused as the expression on his face quickly turned to worry.

“I’m sure,” he replied back. 

“Don’t worry, this won’t stop me from reading or walking with you,” you said trying to lighten the mood. “Well, maybe we can do less walking and more sitting.” He gave a small smile at your attempt to make a joke.

“Well, I know how much you like those walks,” he said instinctively grabbing your hand as he spoke, “I’m sure you will be the one dragging me up that hill, broken leg or not.”

You were surprised by his attempt to comfort and reassure you, so much so that you almost didn’t notice him holding your hand. You looked down and squeezed back as your eyes met each other again. After a moment, he slipped his hand away, feeling a bit awkward about the position he’d gotten himself in. 

You were released the following day after you continuously nagged Madam Pomfrey for hours on end. It was bad enough she’d told you you had to keep of your broom for a few weeks, but to be stuck in here as well? No, you were not going to have that. As you left the infirmary, you were surprised to be greeted by Severus waiting for you outside the door. 

“Care to go for a walk?” he asked you.

“Wow, look at that. Once objecting to my proposition for a walk, now you are the one asking me to take a stroll,” you smirked proudly. 

“Oh I’m only offering because I know it’s what you like to do after being still for so long and as you say, _‘that’s what friends do’_,” he scoffed back at you. 

You giggled at his sly attitude and his efforts in being your friend. Thankful you finally had someone by your side in situations like this because you had to admit, you really did need a friend right now. “Lead the way,” you said smiling at him. 

He walked closely beside you, very alert of your movements as he watched you shuffle down the halls at a slower pace than normal due to your injuries. He felt bad watching you flinch whenever your pain intensified or if you accidently shifted a muscle you shouldn’t have. Quidditch was a rough sport, one he never really understood the hype for until he began watching you play. It was strange the feeling he got when he’d see you catch the quaffle or score a goal. It was a rush of glee that he never thought he’d feel, especially when you weren’t even playing for the team he was supposed to be supporting.

Slowly but surely, you made your way to the black lake, conversing with Severus along the way, searching for a distraction to help ease the pain you felt each time you took another step. Unfortunately, the conversation had proven to be such a distraction that you stumbled as the incline of the hill took you off guard. Severus quickly grabbed your wrist with one hand as the other snaked around your waist and rested on your lower back, pulling you up before you fell off your feet. He looked into your eyes as he subconsciously pulled you closer. 

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” you said softly, losing yourself in his dark eyes. “Thanks.” You placed your free hand on his shoulder afraid you would lose your balance as you gazed at him. _This is new,_ you thought. 

Realizing what he was doing, he quickly pushed you away, letting go of your wrist last, making sure you wouldn’t fall.

“We don’t have to keep going if you can’t walk. Do you want to just sit here instead?” he offered. 

“No,” you said softly, “let’s keep going. I can do it.”

With a rush of determination and a hint of stubbornness, you made your way towards the tree and as you went to sit down, your legs gave out on you, causing you to press all your weight against the tree. Severus helped you down to the ground before placing himself beside you. 

“You really took a bad blow yesterday, didn’t you?” he said, concern evident in his voice. 

“I’ll heal,” you smiled at him. “Don’t worry about me.” But he couldn’t help but do just that. He knew how much you loved Quidditch and he knew you would continue playing for as long as you could which meant you could land in the infirmary once again with an even worse injury. 

You gazed at him as you played back the events that had occurred in the last few weeks involving the boy beside you. Had you really caught feelings for him? Is that what this was? Why you felt this way when he held you? You told yourself it would pass, but after talking with him hours later under the tree, you felt a familiar knot in your stomach form as your feelings towards him only strengthened. 


	9. Poisonous Friendships

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You eavesdrop on Lily and Severus who are in a heated argument. After you watch Lily walk away, you approach Severus in an attempt to comfort him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is based on one of the memories from the Deathly Hallows (The Prince’s Tale) and is told from the point of view of the reader. As a quick recap, the memory involves Lily and Severus arguing in the courtyard. Lily tells Severus that his friends are evil and he confronts her about James.

As the days went by, you finally had to admit to yourself that you had indeed grown to care for Severus as more than just a friend. But every time you thought of acting on your feelings, you couldn’t help but think of how he acted around Lily the night of Slughorn’s party. He had never looked at you that way, in fact, you had never seen him looked at anyone that way.

“I thought we were supposed to be friends,” you heard a familiar voice say as you read in the corner of the courtyard, hidden from view. You peered over and saw Severus and Lily in a heated argument walking away from you. 

You hesitated a moment before deciding to follow them in the shadows to see what was going on. You listened intently as Lily told Severus how she disapproved of his friends and although you agreed with her words, you couldn’t help but feel sympathetic for Severus when he spoke of Potter. You knew that he tormented Severus and you saw the jealous look in his eyes whenever James tried to woo her. 

Eventually, Lily left Severus and you watched as his rage grew. Against better judgment, you decided to approach him to try and provide a bit of comfort, despite his tempered state. 

“Severus?” you spoke gently as you approached him. He turned around, surprised to see you. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” he said coldly, feeling on edge from the discussion he’d just had with the girl he’d been in love with since he was ten. It was unfair for her to yell at him for what his friends do when Potter and her other housemates were fine with sending him to his death. If only she knew what they had done. If only she knew the truth.

“You don’t look fine.” Afraid of upsetting him further, you stepped back a little. “If you want to talk, I’m here to listen,” you said as kindly as you possibly could. You wanted to be there for him, but you didn’t want to push him to open up to you as you knew that sometimes when you were this angry, all you’d want to do is lock yourself in your room.

Severus glanced at you, curiously, examining your expression. He’d never been offered such a thing before. To have someone be there for him like you were just now. Squinting, he tried to search for the reason you were standing beside him in a comforting stance, thinking perhaps you wanted something of him. 

“Do you hate my friends as well?” his tone hadn’t cooled as he was clearly still upset from the conversation he’d had with Lily, a conversation you had to pretend you didn’t hear. “Will you leave me as well?”

“No, Severus,” you said wide eyed, shaking your head, fearing hid misunderstood and thought you’d taken Lily’s side or something. “I’m not going anywhere. And, as for your friends, I think you could pick a better crowd to hang around. But then again, who am I to judge, you are my only friend.”

Your last sentence took him back as he never thought about who you hung out with when you weren’t with him. He then realized that you would mostly sit alone during class and always kept to yourself when you sat at the Gryffindor table during meal times. He looked down and debated whether confiding in you would be a good idea. You are a Gryffindor, as is Lily, perhaps you could help mend his friendship with her.

“Lily thinks Avery and Mulciber are bad company, but won’t admit that the same can be said about Potter,” you were about to reply but he kept going. “She thinks just because Potter and his friends don’t use Dark Magic, that makes what they do to others okay.”

“Severus, I doubt that’s what she said-” 

“So you’re taking her side?” he could feel his anger bubbling to the surface now. How could you turn against him as well?

“No, that’s not what I mean. What James and his friends do to others- to you, is not okay. I agree with you there, but Dark Magic, Severus, it shouldn’t be used! Ever! You need to be careful around those friends of yours.”

Severus didn’t know what to say. You had no reason to hate his friends as Lily did, so why were you saying these things?

“Severus, I’ve heard them talking. The way they think they are superior because they are pure-bloods is horrible and I think you can do a lot better than them. I think you are a better person and you surely don’t agree with their blood status views.”

While it was true he detested muggles, he understood that muggle-born witches and wizards were no further inferior than those born as pure-bloods. He knew this all too well as he grew up befriending a muggle-born, not to mention his own blood status as well as yours showed that half-bloods were also just as powerful. 

“They are part of Slytherin, as am I. Shouldn’t I be friends with them, take part in their activities, share their views?”

“Just because you are in the same house, doesn’t mean you have to be friends or have the same views. Just as being from different houses doesn’t mean you can’t be friends,” you said with a smile, hoping your words were enough to convince him to distance himself from the students who were so obviously on their way to becoming Death Eaters and in consequence, hopefully strengthening your own friendship with him.

You tried to read the expression on his face for the next few moments and although you could tell he was seriously considering what you had said, you weren’t sure whether you had made any difference in his future choices.

“What are you thinking?” you asked curiously.

“I think,” he said, taking a step towards you. “That I’m glad we are friends.”

You smiled and gently took his hand in yours. “I’m also glad that we are friends,” you replied with a giggle. 

You let go of his hand and told him that it was getting late and that you should both head back to your dorms. He agreed and said farewell as he turned to head to the dungeons. As you walked to Gryffindor Tower, you replayed all the things Lily had said to Severus until you had every word memorized. Why had she been so crud to him? What had he done to drive her away like that?

You were aware that he had a deep fascination in the Dark Arts, but surely he had more sense than to actually perform any Dark Magic. Slytherin house had a bad reputation as many dark wizards had been placed in that particular house during their Hogwarts days, but you refused to believe that that meant every student in Slytherin should be considered a potential dark wizard. You had grown so close to Severus, you knew him better than that. 

As the days went by, you noticed him talking less and less about Lily, and although you were glad he seemed to be getting closer to you, you couldn’t help but feel guilty about his dimensioning relationship with the girl he was in love with. You had also begun to notice his lack of interaction with his Slytherin friends. While he still sat with them during class and meal times, he seemed to be spending most of his free time with you rather than them.

With the exception of James and Sirius’ harsh comments, the rest of the school year seemed to go much smoother for you. You grew closer with Severus and as the last day approached, you hung around him as much as you could, realizing you wouldn’t be seeing him during the summer.


	10. The House Cup

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gryffindor wins the house cup and Sirius approaches you to congratulate you on your performance as a chaser.

Gryffindor had barely managed to win against Hufflepuff, but it didn’t matter as you had won your previous two games as well, meaning your house was in the lead by eighty-three points. As the term came to an end and exams had finally concluded, a wave of excitement rushed through the Gryffindor common room. 

It was the last day of classes and all the girls in your dorm had already packed their bags. You had neglected to join your housemates in stuffing your luggage as the thought of leaving Hogwarts weighed heavily on you. Instead, you focused on the celebration that was to come as Gryffindor had won the House Cup thanks to your admirable contribution to winning all your Quidditch games. 

You stood at the top of the stairs outside your dorm and peers down at your fellow students, admiring their pride. Soon enough, they began to shuffle out of the portrait of the Fat Lady, making their way to the Great Hall. You eagerly joined them, excited to have one last big meal in a room decorated with your house colors before heading back home. 

As you entered through the giant doors, you admired the countless banners hanging from the ceiling, emulating the Gryffindor lion, surrounded by red and gold. Most of the students had already found their seats as you made your way to the end of the table, facing the Slytherins. You noticed that they seemed gloomier than usual and with good reason as they had come in last place. 

You scanned the table, finally finding Severus who was not sitting with his usual friends, but reading a book by himself instead. He seemed to be trying to ignore his surroundings, clearly unhappy about Slytherins defeat. You marveled at his sharp features before Dumbledore stood up to bring order to the room, causing Severus to look up from his book. As he did, he caught your eye and you gave him a gentle smile. He didn’t react, but you could see the tension on his shoulders loosen a bit. 

You attentively listened as the Headmaster first awarded the Quidditch Cup, then the House Cup, both to Gryffindor. You smiled as a few of your housemates beside you patted you on the back in congratulations. Soon enough, the excitement dialed down and food appeared on the table. You ate as much as you could, knowing you wouldn’t get such a glorious meal for the next few months. As you ate, Sirius reluctantly approached you, seating himself beside you. 

“Hey (Y/N),” he spoke softly, surprising you at how nice he was being. 

“What do you want?” you asked coldly, wanting him to leave you to enjoy your meal in peace. 

“I-I just wanted to congratulate you for winning the Quidditch Cup and to apologize for the way I’ve been acting.” You were taken back by his polite tone and kind words as you had gotten so used to receiving a subsequent attitude from him every time he bullied Severus.

“Thanks,” you said cautiously, “I guess.”

“I’m sorry (Y/N). Can you forgive me?” 

“Why are you apologizing to me? Shouldn’t you be apologizing to Severus? It’s him you treat so harshly.” As you spoke, you saw the expression on his face return to its usual demeanor. 

“No, I’m not going to apologize to him,” Sirius shifted in his spot, annoyed that you hadn’t lightened up after he apologized. “Look (Y/N), I don’t want there to be bad blood between us. I think you’re brilliant and I don’t want you to hate me.”

“I don’t hate you, I just don’t like the way you and James treat Severus.” 

“Forget about him!” Sirius was clearly losing his patients and was trying his best not to snap at you, but you didn’t care because you’d had quite enough of his bullying. “I just think you could choose better friends is all.” His words were quite funny as you remembered that you’d actually spoken those words yourself not too long ago to none other than Severus. Did he feel the way you were feeling right now when you said that to him? Because, the fact that Sirius thinks he knows what’s best for you was quite insulting right now and you didn’t want that to be the impression you had on Severus. You cared about Severus and wanted what was best for him, while Sirius clearly had other goals in mind. 

“Like you, you mean?” You straightened your back, confident in the fact that you’d discovered why exactly he’d approached you. Did he really think you would want to be friends?

“Well, I think if you gave me a chance, you would see I’m much better company,” he smirked as he returned to his soft tone. “Do you think we could try to be friends?” You raised a brow at him as your eyes searched his. He wasn’t serious was he. You’d barely spoken and the little interaction you had with him was left quiet a negative impression to you.

“Well, nothing’s impossible… I guess.” His smile grew wider at your words, happy you hadn’t completely rejected his offer. Maybe those weren’t the best words for you to speak to him, giving him false hope like that, but perhaps if you were nice, it would rub off on him.

“I’d appreciate it though if you laid off Severus,” you added, not wanting him to think you were okay with the way he treated your friend. 

Sirius rolled his eyes at your comment, but nonetheless said he would try and be nicer as he gave you one last smile and made his way back to his friends.


	11. Till Next Year

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the school year comes to an end, you pack up your things as you join Severus on the train ride back to London.

As you finished packing up, you looked around your empty dorm and sighed. Everyone else had already made their way to the train, but you wanted to stay as long you could as you’d never felt more at home than at Hogwarts. Every year you had trouble letting go, but this year, you actually had someone you didn’t want to say goodbye to which made packing up so much worse. Each book, each article of clothing you tucked away, cut at your joy as the reality of spending the summer away from Hogwarts, from Severus, sunk in. 

You closed the door to the dorm and made your way to the Entrance Hall where your eyes immediately began searching for Severus. You spotted a group of Slytherins and recognized Avery and Mulciber but noticed that Severus wasn’t with them as he usually would be. Peering behind them, you saw a few more groups and began noticing how rare it was to find friends from different houses huddled together. There were the occasional pair or group of three that contained more than one house, but most groups were very segregated, divided between houses. As your eyes continued lingering over the other students, you also realized there were never any Slytherins and Gryffindors interacting with one another. Sure, there was that one group with a Hufflepuff between them, but as they were first years, you suspected they wouldn’t stay friends for very long. 

“Looking for something?” you jumped as heard someone approach you from behind.

“Blimey Severus!” you said as you turned around. “You scared me!”

He smirked at you before he noticed your old beat up suitcase. His eyes lingered on the tears and worn out leather.

“It belonged to one of the older kids at the orphanage. It’s used, but it works,” you said noticing the curiosity across his face. 

He nodded in understanding before gesturing to the carriages, asking you to join him to which you gladly accepted. You made small talk with one another before finally settling into a compartment on the train. 

Severus noticed you had a longing look on your face, but it was you who asked him the question he had on his mind. 

“Disappointed that we’re leaving?” you asked, realizing he looked more gloomy than usual. 

“Not particularly excited to go back home,” he said calmly, his eyes trailing the ground.

“Neither am I,” you said as you gazed out the window, saying goodbye to the only place you felt safe and comfortable. 

“What’s it like?” he asked, “At the orphanage I mean.” He wondered at times if he would be better off having no parents at all than having parents who constantly fight and a father who was always so angry.

“Lonely,” you said with a frown, thinking about all the years you spent with no friends, no company, no one who understood you. As you looked back at Severus, you gave him a little smile, thankful that you had him in your life.

“What about you? What’s it like living in a magical household?” you asked curiously, wanting to talk about something else. 

“I don’t” he mumbled as he shrugged and turned away from you. Realizing he had no interest in sharing his personal life with you, you quickly changed to topic.

“Any plans for the summer?” you asked quickly, hoping he wasn’t upset by your previous question. 

“Not really,” he said. “What about you?”

You went on to tell him about how you wanted to try and acquire a certain book that had recently come out earlier that year and how excited you were to read it. You chatted with one another the whole way back to London and when the train stopped, neither of you wanted to leave the compartment. By the time you finally decided it time to leave the train, everyone else was already on the platform, eagerly greeting their family. 

“My mum’s over there,” Severus said as he pointed to the end of the platform. You didn’t even look where he was pointing as you were too busy memorizing the details of his face. You gave him a small smile before saying goodbye.

“I’ll see you in September,” you said. 

“See, you,” he replied as you watched him drag his feet towards his mother.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr @violet_knox for updates if you like. I also write one shots and draw occasionally


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